Shelf Life Extension Techniques for Food.

The extension of food shelf life can be achieved through various techniques.

Hot fill/Cook –Chill

Cook-Chill is a highly economical method for extending the shelf life of food products.The process involves fully cooking the product, filling into a bag (typically) at temperatures exceeding 85 C followed by quick chilling and storage at 0-4 C.Typical applications of this technique include the mass production of food for institutions like hospitals and schools, as well as the preparation of retail-ready soups and sauces packaged in stand-up pouches.

Pasteurisation

This is a process that happens after food is packed. The pack is then heated to a temperature of 100 C. Pasteurisation generally provides a longer shelf life than hot fill. Depending on the ingredients in a soup or sauce, this additional thermal treatment is likely to be required to extend shelf life.

Retort

Retorting in flexible packaging is a method of food processing that generally uses trays and bags. The food is first packaged and then heated in a retort chamber to temperatures typically above 120 degrees Celsius to sterilize the product and achieve a shelf life of up to one year at room temperature. This process therefore has the highest barrier requirements of less than 1 cc/m2/24 hours. Common applications include meat casseroles, preserved turnips and abalone.

Vacuum Pack

This is probably the most economical way to extend shelf life. The aim is also to minimize the oxygen content (O2) through extreme vacuum. The bag or thermoformed package must have a good barrier to prevent oxygen from re-entering the package. In some cases, such as vacuum packaging of meat with bones, it may be necessary to use bags that are particularly resistant to puncture.